"
There is a way in which human and machine, connected organically, initiates propulsion
in the manner of the swan...and I, Denis V. Curry, a sculptor, am the first to
discover it."

Please
be patient whilst the film clip loads

The
achievement of propulsion from rest and acceleration by Curry's prototype, shown
in the film clip above, affirms in both practical terms and in the calculus the
possibility of take-off and flight in this mode.

Denis V. Curry's variable-geometry
ornithopter is herein claimed to be the
first such machine to initiate propulsion solely by means of the wing movements.The
wings and their mechanics of operation are principally based upon, and derived
from, those of birds - particularly the swan - and insects.

Propulsion
from rest in still air is the essential first event in the continuum leading to
flight simulating nature. The achievement of propulsion from rest and acceleration
by Curry's prototype affirms in both practical terms and in the calculus the possibility
of take-off and flight in this mode.
D. V. Curry's breakthrough has been recognised by the Royal Aeronautical Society,
which elected him an Associate and published his paper:- 'Propulsion
of a Variable-Geometry Ornithopter', Proc: Symposium of the Human-powered
Aircraft Group of R.Ae.S., paper 7. 10.2.75.

The
right of D. V. Curry to be identified as the creator of the above machine has
been asserted by him in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act
1988.